Meet Kay Marion

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kay Marion. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Kay, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

I believe that most people are already connected to the innate human instinct inside of us that demands that we survive and persist. Society can attempt to beat it out of us but I think that if we allow ourselves to be still we can always find our way back to center. I was lucky to have been born a Black woman in the South and to be connected to a lineage and culture that continuously feeds my willpower. I get my resilience from the people and places and animals that I love, from the traditions of my people, from the music that I create (and the people that listen to my art), from the stories I get to tell, and from the Spirit guiding me back to center when I cannot guide myself back. I think most importantly, I find resilience in choosing to love myself. I love myself fiercely and do my best to speak positively about myself and my abilities. I commit to being in charge of my own happiness and taking care of myself (even and most especially on my worst days). Life has taught me to feel assured in my decisions and my experiences. It is not easy and I got to this point through trial and error but I am grateful to have continuous opportunities to practice gratitude. I choose this life as an artist and creative. That is enough for me to persist. Because I say so.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I am currently focused on building my brand, following, and musical catalogue for my career as a vocalist. I studied as a classical vocalist for a few years and I grew up listening to all sorts of music so I’m happy to be in the phase of my life and career where
I am creating my own music. My band, The Neo-Symphony, and my background vocalists, The Velvet Dream, assist me in my mission of elevating the neo-soul genre by guiding audiences back to their own divinity. James Solomon, Ivo Pestana, Joseph Cline, and Kweli Huskey-Littlejohn make up the core members of the Neo-Symphony. We are launching merch and announcing performances in the spring and I’m focused excited to share more of my personality (which is actually very unserious online) and more of my art and interests. Our live band arrangements are also exciting to me as well! I listen to so much music and I used to spend so much time trying to fit into one box but with my band I can really jam out however I’d like. I might sing an aria in concert or I’ll start singing one of my favorite blues songs. You never know what to expect at one of my shows (lol). My goal is make it an intentionally uplifting experience every time!

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

On my journey thus far, I’ve found that the most important piece of knowledge is how to let go. We hold on to things so tight that we can try to force them into being instead of just allowing them to be. I think the second most important piece of knowledge is that letting go is a continuous habit that one should develop. It’s a practice that I believe any artist, and especially vocalists, should make peace with. Lastly, I think you must be impeccable with your word to yourself. Always see a piece of art through to the end. Always keep the promises that you make to yourself. That is how you build self-esteem and resilience. That’s where you develop any other skills and where you find out what you’re really trying to say. DO THE THING.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

Ona Agbani: The Ancient Path by Iyalosa Apetebii Olaomi Osunyemi Akalatunde is the one of the most influential books I’ve read in my life thus far. It centers around West African spirituality and a closed spiritual practice however, I found the idea of agency in this book. I was quite taken with the concept of choosing my path and listening to my own inner voice instead of the voices of those around me. Social media is loud and so much is much of the rest of society. The stillness that I felt when reading about the ways of our ancestors was a delight and I often imploy the idea of agency and trusting the divine in myself to guide my path (and my music).

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kay-songbird.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/songbirdandsymphony/#

Image Credits

Jasmine Tranai
Eman